Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 170

Devanagari script

ग्रहणानंतरे स्नानं दंडखातेति पुण्यदम् । जैगीषव्य गुहा तत्र तत्र लिंगं तदाह्वयम्

Transliteration

grahaṇānaṃtare snānaṃ daṃḍakhāteti puṇyadam | jaigīṣavya guhā tatra tatra liṃgaṃ tadāhvayam

Translation

گرہن کے فوراً بعد وہاں غسل کرنا ثواب بخش ہے؛ وہ مقدس مقام ‘دَنڈکھاتا’ کے نام سے معروف ہے۔ اسی جگہ جَیگیشویہ کی غار ہے، اور وہاں قائم شِو لِنگ بھی اسی نام سے مشہور ہے۔

Word by Word

• ग्रहण: of the eclipse
• ग्रहण: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रहण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — ‘of eclipse’ (समासपूर्वपद)

• अनन्तरे: immediately after
• अनन्तरे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — ‘immediately after’ (अधिकरणे)

• स्नानम्: bath; bathing
• स्नानम्: Karma/Predicate-Noun (कर्म/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• दण्डखात: the ‘Daṇḍakhāta’ (name of a place/spot)
• दण्डखात: Karma/Predicate-Noun (कर्म/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दण्ड + खात (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दण्डस्य खातम्)

• इति: thus; called
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/समाप्तिसूचक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• पुण्यदम्: bestowing merit
• पुण्यदम्: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्यद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (snānam/daṇḍakhātam)

• जैगीषव्य: Jaigīṣavya (proper name)
• जैगीषव्य: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जैगीषव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; संबोधनार्थे नाम (ऋषिनाम)

• गुहा: cave
• गुहा: Karta/Predicate-Noun (कर्ता/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुहा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• तत्र: there (indeed)
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (repetition for emphasis)

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga (Śiva-emblem)
• लिङ्गम्: Karta/Predicate-Noun (कर्ता/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; निर्देशक सर्वनाम (demonstrative)

• आह्वयम्: named; called
• आह्वयम्: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आह्वय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; ‘named/called’ (विशेषणम्)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Daṇḍakhāta

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (ṛṣis/śaunaka-lineage style implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims bathe at a small sacred water-spot just after an eclipse; nearby a cave-mouth (guhā) with a Śiva-liṅga shrine bearing the name Jaigīṣavya; twilight sky transitioning from eclipse shadow to clear light.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Daṇḍakhāta
• Jaigīṣavya
• Jaigīṣavya-guhā
• Śiva-liṅga
• Grahaṇa (eclipse)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Auspicious times like eclipses intensify tīrtha-merit; disciplined bathing (snāna) at Kāśī’s holy spots yields puṇya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Daṇḍakhāta and Jaigīṣavya-guhā in Kāśī, along with the liṅga famed by that association.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) immediately after a grahaṇa (eclipse).